Phoenix, Arizona

B. Hippo with a Saguaro cactus and a Palo Verde tree outside the Arizona state capitol in Phoenix. Both of these plants are typical of the Sonoran Desert landscape in that part of the state. The emblem to the left of the cactus shows the Arizona state flag

Outside Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Taliesin West in nearby Scottsdale, Arizona

Though it is pushing a little later into the year, it's still quite hot here in the desert. We wandered the grounds of the Arizona State Capitol and visited some friends in Phoenix, then went the next morning to see the site of Frank Lloyd Wright's famed architecture school, Taliesin West, in Scottsdale. Interestingly, the buildings at Taliesin were all built out of local materials, so interesting as it is this structure fit into its surroundings far better than the stucco-and-plywood suburban mansions that encroach on its grounds.